Town Council Debates Design Review Board

A public hearing for continuing the was tabled after a heated debate between Town Council members at their .

Councilors Larrye deBear and Barbara Surwilo voted against the motion.

The purpose of the is to enhance the community, preserve property values, improve character and appearance of the community and protect the town's architectural heritage, according to the Rocky Hill charter. The members submit "advisory recommendations to other land use boards and town agencies” after their meetings, the charter states.

Mayor Anthony LaRosa told the council he was wrong when at a , he said that they would no longer be appointing members to the .

"I made a mistake," he stated. The was created through an ordinance and a public hearing needs to be held before the board can be dissolved.

Following discussions with Planning and Zoning Commission and the economic development coordinator, LaRosa initially wanted to discontinue the board because he was told they were "meddling in things, that should basically be done by planning and zoning."

Councilor Frank Szeps said he is not proud of the way Rocky Hill is being developed and he was not alone. According to telephone surveys done for the Plan of Conservation and Development in 2001, 60% of residents were unhappy with the character of the town.

"The way the town is growing does not meet the character we want to see in Rocky Hill," Szeps said.

Szeps added that the town has received millions of dollars of grant money to enhance the character of the buildings on the Silas Deane Highway.

"But, we are not worried about the character of buildings when we are constructing them and that is the purpose of the ," he added. "I can't express the importance of having this board."

Szeps, who became visually upset at times, tried to persuade other council members not to dissolve the and instead, look at ways of making it more efficient. He said there is no reason to go to public hearing on the issue.

"We take a look at this through committee and find a way to better define it to get it to work," Szeps stated.

Councilor Nadine Bell agreed, saying the council needa to “make the board work.”

"I think we should put in the effort to make this work before we eliminate it," Bell said. "We need to make it work and not eliminate it and rescind it."

LaRosa, along with other council members, said the board should be a design architectural review board and not discuss items such as plantings and landscape, which are handled by other commissions and boards.

"The design was supposed to be in regard to the buildings," LaRosa said.